Orrin Hatch: “Referring in the most vitriolic terms to my friends, Senators Biden and Edwards, voting for Judge Smith in committee…”

“Referring in the most vitriolic terms to my friends, Senators Biden and Edwards, voting for Judge Smith in committee, NOW begins by saying: The field of credible Democrats running for President was significantly narrowed today. . . . This is simply because these Senators exercised their independent judgment and supported Judge Smith. Honoring the President's prerogative to nominate judges should hardly be a cause to attack my Democrat colleagues or take them out of a potential Presidential candidacy or race. Rather than speak further about Judge Smith's enemies, I would like to speak about his friends. I think an editorial in the liberal Pittsburgh Post-Gazette put Judge Smith's nomination best when they wrote: Outside Washington's world of partisan politics, Smith seems to have no enemies, only admirers. Those who have watched him work say an exemplary 14-year record in the Federal bench in Western Pennsylvania is being twisted by political opportunists. His popularity outside the capital extends even to members of the opposing political party, who describe him as fair, hard-working, and respectful to all. I hope I am not alone in this Senate in finding this home-town report much more reliable and convincing than the hit pieces circulated by the Washington left-wing special interest groups, or for that matter the New York Times, which I read faithfully everyday and respect in many ways--but not in this instance.…”